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Transparency is explained by Wikipedia as follows.

Transparency, as used in the humanities, implies openness, communication, and accountability. It is a metaphorical extension of the meaning used in the physical sciences: a “transparent” object is one that can be seen through.

For a business to be transparent, we need to follow certain rules or guidelines that keep us on track. After all, if a business pulls this way yesterday and that way tomorrow when it comes to openness, communication and accountability, clients will start to complain and eventually not return.

Why being transparent matters

As a freelance writer with my own small business I have always been transparent. I believe that this transparency is what brings me new clients all the time, while getting repeat work from existing ones.

Being transparent allows prospective clients to see what they will get, before they actually do. A typical example is the McDonald’s franchise.

Whenever you step into their restaurants, you know beforehand what you’ll get. This is why they have been so successful over the years. We should never under estimate this. The power of being transparent has many benefits, not only the fact that we know what can be expected from a business who applies this principle. Let’s look at some of them:

• Your customers are more knowledgeable about you and your business
• You establish a sense of trust upfront by being transparent
• Others value your honesty and are drawn to you in the process

To me, being transparent comes from being confident about what I do. I guess I have always been like an open book and I’m not afraid to share my pitfalls and warts with my readers. We all make mistakes, even though some are really dumb ones. As humans we show real greatness when we can step over our ego and admit this to the public.

A typical example is the following short story: Two bloggers whom I really respect got into a huge public fight not so long ago. Each accused the other of doing the wrong thing and they weren’t shy of swearing at each other either.

To cut the story short (and stay true to my intro) they eventually made up by publicly apologizing to each other, admitting that they had made a really dumb mistake.

To me this is true transparency and they should both be commended for doing so.

Transparency is about showing guts and character

It takes guts to admit to the world that we make mistakes, besides being good at what we do. Some business owners might not feel comfortable doing this, but for me it has always been about being open and accountable for what I said I would do and being honest.

Admittedly this can also put us into real trouble if we stuff up. If that happens we just have to take the bull by the horn and admit it, instead of making things worse. Even if that puts us into the dog house for the short term.

While I will never agree with everybody’s views on things, I respect those humans most who show me true transparency in their day to day actions. To us Internet marketers, bloggers and business owners, this means to stay true to us and our business ideas. We shouldn’t be afraid to show our true nature, even though we operate online, in a supposedly faceless environment.

If I can’t look people in the eye because of what I write about, then I shouldn’t write it at all. Also, I’d like to look into the mirror at myself and smile without feeling remorse, guilt or even shame.

Personally, I love being transparent, but having said that I also know that not everybody else does.

If you feel strongly about the topic of transparency in business, I’d love to hear your own opinion on why you favour one over the other.

(original article)